These Bars Transform Into Tropical Escapes Each Winter

"Stepping through the door during the annual “Escape the Northeast” event instantly trades a bleak western Massachusetts winter for a warm, loud, out-of-season oasis with blacked-out windows, a narrow shotgun room glowing with puffer-fish lanterns, vintage rattan shades, and netting draped across the ceiling like a jungle canopy, with vines creeping up the walls. Surf bands cram into the front lounge, their twangy guitars bouncing off nautical lights salvaged from mid-century décor house Oceanic Arts, while the room smells of citrus, rum, and something sweetly tropical. A month-long tropical takeover launched in 2021 turned February and March from the slowest stretch into a packed spectacle that still confuses out-of-towners who wander in midsummer asking about “the tiki bar,” not realizing it’s just a two-month event. Regulars are obsessed with the Painkiller — so popular it eclipsed the rest of the menu and would cause fury if it ever disappeared — with Navy Grogs and Cobra’s Fangs (Ned King’s favorite) close behind. Bartenders swap sweaters for vintage tropical shirts, the menu nods to 1940s Don the Beachcomber, and Frank Sinatra’s “Summer Wind” spins on the turntable, creating a place to go for a little while to forget things and make winter feel far away." - Carrie Honaker